An Analysis On How The Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic Is Disrupting Military Operations

New York Army National Guard members take calls at a Coronavirus Hotline call center, under the guidance of a site leader in Hawthorne, New York, March 16, 2020. US Air National Guard/Senior Airman Sean Madden

Sim Tack, Global Analyst, Stratfor: How coronavirus is disrupting military operations now and in the future

* Measures to contain and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic could significantly impact global military readiness for at least the next several months.
* Even though immediate disruptions to military operations will be temporary, the economic stress resulting from the pandemic could yield long-term setbacks in development programs.
* The potential impact from COVID-19 provides a general template of how future pandemics could affect military capabilities and activities, albeit with different timelines and severity of impact depending on the disease.

Amid the escalating COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world are facing widespread disruptions to not only the health of their populations and economies, but their militaries. Even if the virus itself doesn't leave key personnel severely ill (or worse), quarantine measures can still severely thwart military operations.

Meanwhile, military powers such as the United States may increasingly be forced to deploy additional forces to the frontlines of unfolding COVID-19 outbreaks at home. The resulting fallout could, in turn, result in setbacks in the fight against multiple non-state actors abroad, and potentially even the long-term development of military capabilities.

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WNU Editor: The focus for almost every military in the world right now is to isolate critical command and control elements, and to make sure there will be enough healthy troops and leaders to carry out orders as the coronavirus pandemic grows. Case in point .... DoD isolating critical troops and commanders to be ready in a crisis amid pandemic (CNN).